Large Abdominal Lipomas

Hi, I am new to the group. I have had 3 large (grapefruit size and 2 tennis ball size) removed from "deep" in the fatty tissue in my abdomen in 2009. Well, they're back. I heard they are supposed to be slow-growing, but once I find them, they're large and seem to grow faster. I'm not sure if it's my imagination or not. Currently, I have found 4-6 new lipomas all in the upper part of my abdomen--one under my ribs, one under my right side ribcage, one slightly to the right and slightly above navel, and 1-2 more on left side. The problem is they move and they are hard to find because they are deep. I find some while standing, some while lying on stomach or back...just depends. Unfortunately, last year I had my gallbladder removed because of a stone and occasionally pain in that area under my ribs. So now I'm thinking that there's a large lipoma there that was contributing to the pain because I feel something there. A lot of people say that they are not painful, but that's not true. I get occasional sharp stinging pains and discomfort after eating (I'll get bloated from the navel up like I'm pregnant). I'm assuming they're pressing on an organ/organs, but what do I know?

The first surgeon I went to treated me like I was hallicinating because he couldn't feel them or find them with an ultrasound. I went to another surgeon because I knew I wasn't crazy...I knew what I felt. He removed the 3 lipomas that I had found, but before surgery, I had to point out where they were so he could circle them. Here's my question: apparently I have a lot of these things in my abdomen that possibly haven't gotten to the point of being discovered. Will an MRI or CT Scan show them so the surgeons aren't playing guessing games and I'm not going to be going through this surgery repeatedly?

I had one on my upper left chest removed a few years ago that came out of nowhere and kept getting bigger at a very fast pace.

I just had a large right abdominal wall lipoma removed this July. This one had been bothering me a lot for many years but unfortunately the only imaging tests I was able to get were numerous CT scans and ultrasounds which apparently don't show lipomas. I begged many times to try an MRI instead since the other 2 had never shown any reason for my right abdominal/pelvic pain but was always refused- even when I offered to pay for one myself!

I suspect that I may have had a lipoma there even in my teens. Something always felt 'off' on that right side and it also seemed like I had difficulty losing excess fat and water in my right leg- like something was 'in the way'.

Then, at age 25, while at work, I bent over to pick something up off of the floor. I felt something in my lower right pelvis and developed severe, 24-7 pelvic pain and spasms and went from being constipated if I didn't eat enough fiber to frequent bouts of what I'd now call proctalgia fugax My only guess is that what may have happened is that part of the lipoma slid down towards the pelvic area when I bent over.. Unfortunately, the term IBS had been coined and I was quickly thrown under the IBS bus which meant that no doctor was going to take my issue seriously. I kept telling them that I had a tight, wrap-around feeling on my right side but they did not believe that there was anything there.

After 14 years, I finally gave in to a hysterectomy when a gynecologist said that he'd guarantee I'd feel better if I had one. I knew it wasn't the answer but I hoped that they'd see what was really wrong while they were in there but I now think that they just get in, do what they planned to do, and then close you up. And knowing what I know now, the lipoma probably wouldn't have been visible since it is on the outside of the abdominal wall. I have regretted the hysterectomy. Besides not helping, it has given me symptoms of a fistula and an abscess that apparently only my massage therapist can detect so have gotten no help for that despite visiting several doctors over the years.

It wasn't until a chiropractor ordered an MRI a few years ago that I learned of the lipoma. Doctors tended to ignore and downplay it when I brought it up. I had another MRI this year for sciatica- which I think is caused by the abscess on my left buttock that no doctor can diagnose- and this time I got to see the lipoma on the screen with my own eyes. It looked like a whale near the top right with a tail curving in and downwards. This looked like exactly what I had been complaining about for about 27 years! Fortunately I got no argument when I asked to have it removed. And now a part of it was actually visible externally so it would have been difficult to argue about it.

It's been about 2 1/2 months now since I had it removed. I still feel the curving sensation where the lipoma was and wonder if it will ever straighten out. The surgeon said that it went deep into the abdominal wall muscle. I am also still retaining a lot of water though the area itself looks OK.

I did not know much about lipomas until I got the one on my chest a few years ago. It makes me so mad that I was denied treatment for mine for so long because doctors were too stubborn to let me have an MRI yet they would do the CT scans and ultrasounds repeatedly in vain. And my guess is I never would have had the hysterectomy- which has only caused more problems with no solutions- if I had had the lipoma removed.

Wish I had seen this sooner. I have a similar experience here. I also feel a similar pressure inside my abdomen. I have never had it imaged except for surface ultrasounds. As far As I know, ultra sounds can only tell the difference between harder and softer material. A baby will show up rather clearly for instance, but differentiating organs and lipomas might be harder. I know the images don't really look like anything to me. Anyway, Lipomas generally grow beneath the skin, but lipomas inside the chest cavity are not unheard of. The best thing to do would be to get an MRI of your abdomen. MRI scans are very high resolution 3d images that can differentiate all different kinds of material found in the body. The only drawback is that they are expensive without insurance backing you up.

As for the effect of interal lipomas. While they aren't deadly, they can impair the function of your organs if they are large or put too much pressure on them. I myself have felt nasueated from feeling full even when I have barely eaten. There are lots of other possible reason for that though, it can just be regular old "normal" visceral fat deposits in your abdomen. Or plain old constipation.

In any case, I plan on getting an MRI as soon as I can. I don't like CT scans because the radiation dose it nearly triple your yearly radiation exposure and can increase your chances of getting a malignant tumor rather than these benign lipomas. MRI are much safer though because the radation isn't ionizing. Just radio waves, like a cell phone for instance.